Hi All,
I just bought an 06 Focus ZX4 ST with 70,000 Km on it. Are there any issues other owners can give me a heads up about? I'm trying to find out if there are any skeletons in this models closet I should know about.

I should say that I'm buying it from a Ford dealer, and it looks pretty clean and well maintained. Only thing I could see wrong was a small ding in the rear right door were it looks like a shopping cart hit it.

I'd check with the dealer to see if they have the previous maintenance records on file. If they do, that's GREAT, as they know what was done to the car and when, such as oil changes, transmission fluid changes (still a bit early with 70K kms), etc.

Otherwise, I haven't heard of any major issues, but you can always phone another dealer, give them your VIN and they can look up any technical service bulletins or even recalls that were done, or not done (if any exist). I mention to phone another dealer, just so when you go to your dealer for service, you can TELL them to do what hasn't been done and will be covered (Ford will fix at no charge for recalls & TSB's). I find it better to do some homework on the matter, and you were right in coming to this site. Not all dealers treat their clients the same. This is why it's best to phone another dealer (one that doesn't see your vehicle regularly) to see what needs to be done to it - if anything.

If the second dealer can't find any problems to fix/update then ask the same question at your regular dealer. Chances are if it's been inspected by the dealer, all TSBs and software updates should be done; again, if there are any.

Be sure to stick with the maintenance schedule in your owners manual to get the most life out of your components. If you change to synthetic oil, you can easily go 10,000kms on an oil change, if not longer in most cases. I can drive up to 40,000kms a year on my Amsoil oil I use. I rarely drive more than 25K kms a year, but once I factor in some idling time in traffic, towing, etc, it adds up close to 40,000kms of use and abuse. That's just food for thought should you be interested.

360ci.. Thanks for the heads up about calling other dealers for info on TSB and recalls. Good idea, I'll do that..

I took the car to my regular mechanic to give it the once over too, and it got a clean bill of health. He said the dealer obviously gave it a good going over before selling it. The tires were brand new (Still had the red stripe in the middle of the tread) and the Brakes look like that were nearly new. No evidence of the car being in an accident. (and both the dealer and I ran a VIN check for the same) The Dealer I bought the car from was not the dealer on record for maintenance, so they did not have much other than the service they did to get it ready for sale.

We've had the car for a couple of weeks now, and so far I have to say it looks like we got a real gem. No evidence that the car was abused, (even the alloy rims were spotless.. appears the previous owner never even scuffed a curb)

I'm with you on the Synthetic Oil.. I put nothing but in my Escape, I'll do the same in the Focus.. cost a bit more, but as you say lasts much longer than normal oil.

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